Monday, May 30, 2011

Comics Review: DUCKTALES #1 (May 2011, kaboom!)

"I'm an easy "sell" for any product that takes the links between [DuckTales] and the world of [Carl] Barks seriously..." -- My review of UNCLE $CROOGE #397

... but not so easy a sell that I can accept a product that steps all over its own webbed feet in trying to link various aspects of the Disney Duck "universes" and winds up satisfying fans of none of them -- not to mention especially pissing off fans of all of them.

kaboom! DT #1 was a huge disappointment. From the moment the title was announced, I was eagerly looking forward to seeing how writer Warren Spector's announced intention to combine Duck comics, DuckTales, andDarkwing Duck continuity would work itself out, and how the much-praised MiquelPujol would illustrate the mash-up. The first hint of trouble came when the lavishly advertised Pujol was... replaced by the combination of Leonel Castellani, Jose Massaroli, and Magic Eye Studios. Not that Castellani is a slacker, but we were promised something that did not come to pass. With kaboom!'s Disney line shriveling up faster than a piece of frying bacon, the cynical, yet inescapable, thought occurred to me that kaboom! had already abandoned plans for a continuing DT book in favor of a cost-cutting, "one (arc) and done" approach. Reading Spector's chaotic script did nothing to lessen my suspicions. To be frank, this book already reads like a D.O.A. title.

"Rightful Owners" finds Scrooge challenged by rival tycoon John D. Rockerduck to engage in a contest to return treasures that the two have amassed over the years to their... you guessed it. As an excuse to insert Rockerduck into a DuckTales story, this premise isn't bad, actually. It wouldn't be as believable for FlintheartGlomgold to challenge Scrooge in this manner, since Flinty is just as acquisitive as Scrooge; Rockerduck's main motivation, by contrast, is to get the best of Scrooge in any way he can, even if it means spending some of his own money in the process. The problem is that Rockerduck got the idea by sending a spy to McDuck Mansion at the very moment that Webby, HD&L, and Launchpad were engaged in a debate over the morality of Scrooge's keeping such baubles in his possession. Webby, in particular, is galvanized by her recent tour of the museum's "Scrooge McDuck Collection" to turn into a scold on behalf of deflowered indigenous peoples. In all honesty, HD&L, with their long-established strong sense of right and wrong, would have been far more likely to have raised this point a long time ago... as they did in, for example, the TV version of Barks' "The Golden Fleecing." Making Webby the Ducks' literal voice of responsibility (and a rather arrogant one to boot; she gloats when HD&L "discover she's right" after paging through the Junior Woodchuck Guidebook... and since when has the Guidebook served as any sort of moral compass?) seems like SUCH a transparent way of "giving Webby a more meaningful role to play in the story." I have no objection to that, but there are far more subtle and in-character ways to do it (for example, see "The Arcadian Urn" in U$ #399). To call Spector's approach here ham-handed would be an insult to the Smithfield people.

Even before Webby has switched to "self-righteous jerk" mode, Spector commits some serious continuity-related sins during the opening sequence in which Scrooge conducts a tour of his museum "Collection." Spector apparently intended this to be his own version of the opening pages of Rosa's "The Son of the Sun", with artifacts from numerous previous adventures serving to link the present-day goings-on to the glorious past. However, in focusing Scrooge's flashbacks on the events of "The Status Seeker" and "The Golden Fleecing" -- both Barks stories that were adapted into episodes by the TV series -- Spector introduces elements from Barks' stories into a DuckTales context without acknowledging the changes that the TV episodes made to those stories. The McGuffin of "The Status Seeker" that is shown here is Barks' original Candy-Striped Ruby, rather than the TV version's hideous Mask of Kuthu-Lulu. Likewise, in TV's "Fleecing," Scrooge never actually got the golden coat, met characters called Larkies (which the TV eprebranded as Harpies, following Barks' original wishes), or had to eat parsnip pudding. So what is the "reality" of those DT adventures NOW?Spector had any number of Barks treasure stories available to reference here; why did he have to choose these? Could it be that... gulp... Spector wasn't aware of the DT versions of these stories?

Spector likewise gets his continuities crossed when the "Collection" tour passes the grown-up edition of the baby dinosaur that Scrooge brought back to Duckburg as part of the events of Rosa's "Escape from Forbidden Valley" (U$ #347, November 2005). Had Scrooge and HD&L been the only characters on site during this scene, things would have been fine, but Webby is with them here -- and her questions indicate that she has no idea that live dinosaurs still exist, which flies in the face of the TV episode "Dinosaur Ducks", to say nothing of Bubba Duck's triceratops sidekick Tootsie, who was a housemate of Webby and HD&L's during the TV series' entire second season. [Thanks to Joe Torcivia for reminding neglectful [and embarrassed!] me of this latter fact -- CEB] Again, it's possible that Spector has never seen these eps, but if you're dead set on mixing and matching Duck "universes," shouldn't you be a little more aware of the specific parameters of those "universes"?

The plot per se doesn't really begin until the last half-dozen pages or so, when Scrooge takes Webby and Launchpad with him to the island of Rippon Taro to return the Candy-Striped Ruby (thanks for rubbing the continuity gaffe in our faces, Warren). Even this seemingly simple scenario is handled poorly. HD&L are left behind because "they're in school and [Webby] isn't right now," a state of affairs which (1) seems illogical in light of the fact that HD&L and Webby attend the same school inDuckTales and (2) is promptly negated when HD&L are freely available to fly with Launchpad to Rippon Taro at ish's end. (How did LP get from Scrooge's ship back to Duckburg to do the flying? And why did Scrooge ask LP to bring him the Ruby from Duckburg -- which LP, if he were on board, shouldn't have been able to do anyway -- rather than taking the Ruby himself?) The peppermint-candy-loving jellyfish from "The Status Seeker(s)" pops up just in time to save Webby from falling overboard and drowning during a storm... and Scrooge just happens to have candy on board to feed the beast. The peppering of extremely lame puns regarding King Fulla Cola, his son Fulla Pep, and their retainer Can Dew turns out to be only a minor irritant, which should tell you a whole lot about the overall quality of this story.

For me, nothing sums up the slipshod, "throw it at the wall and see what sticks" approach of this issue better than the panel below, in which a mysterious someone -- perhaps Rockerduck, perhaps not -- informs an impromptu convention of Barks, Rosa, Darkwing Duck, and DuckTalesvillains of Scrooge's intention to return artifacts. (Actually, since The Beagle Boys, who appear in an earlier panel, are depicted in their "clone" Barks form, you can only include DuckTales in the mix if you count the foxface in the blue jacket as being Fritter O'Way of "Down and Out in Duckburg," rather than Chisel McSue of Barks' horseradish story... and who's to say he isn't? Continuity certainly seems to be of the postmodern, "create your own truth" variety here.)

It's tough to resist a "Way Cool!", "fanboy-ish" reaction to this scene, but... but... How did they all get involved? Does Rockerduck really have so much "pull" that he can control a pack of villains (as opposed to hapless underlings like Lusky of "Around the World in 80 Bucks") in so matter-of-fact a manner? How would villains focused on St. Canard come to be so interested in Scrooge McDuck's doings? Why were minor Darkwingvillains (Professor Moliarity, Camille Chameleon) employed, rather than some of the big names? Why should "single-focus" characters like ArpinLusene, or Azure Blue and Lawyer Sharky, EVEN CARE about what is going on here? I'm sorry, but if you're going to throw all of these characters together, there has to be some reason for doing so, even if it's a meeting of the Disney Afternoon Villains' Union (shout-out to Kim McFarland and Mark Lungo!). I'd like to think that Spector will reveal all in whatever issues are left to him, but I'm not particularly optimistic.

OK, then, did I like anything here? Well, Castellani's artwork -- what there is of it -- is pretty good (if somewhat rough), given that he was probably handed the assignment at the eleventh hour. (Massaroli and Magic Eye's contributions, by contrast, are much rougher and harder on the eyes, which unfortunately makes the artistic-team seams easy to glimpse.) I appreciated the unexpected appearances of Daisy and Fethry as TV interviewers, even though (1) I would have preferred Daisy to have appeared as she did on Quack Pack and (2) Fethry doesn't appear to be the interviewer type (someone whose crazy schemes would encourage others to interview HIM, now, that's another matter). And, there's no question that Spector's heart is in the right place. With guidance, and a little additional research, I think he could be a decent writer. Unfortunately, given kaboom!'s current condition, he may not get a fair chance to develop his talents.

One could suggest that this episode takes place prior to "Dinosaur Ducks"...but that was a fairly early episode, so that'd be pushing it.

Technically, as Webby would know that Tootsie is a transplant from the past, Tootsie's presence in Webby's life wouldn't counter her assumption that "dinosaurs are extinct". Or, given the "first season only" cast, one could suggest this takes place before "Time Is Money". ...except, if the "existing in the same continuity as the Darkwing Duck comic" bears out (and I think it does, given which of Launchpad's character designs they're using), then this has to take place post-the entire DuckTales TV series! So, you can't win either way!

Chris, the thing is, if one's going to explicitly merge Barks and DT continuity, a decision has to be made as to whether the Barks originals or the TV episode adaptations are to be considered canon. It seems to me that the originals should win out...by the virtue of that, not only are they the originals, they're Barks!!! (I'd like to think that Spector consciously made this decision, and directly referring to Barks', and not the TV series', versions of "The Golden Fleecing" and "The Status Seeker" was his way of asserting this to us.) The only argument against this that I can see is that this comic is being marketed under the DuckTales brand...which I admit seems like it should weigh out, but if you're going to already stretch the boundaries to reference Barks and Rosa...well, why not take it all the way?

Yep, I too caught that, with the museum scene, Spector was trying to do "his" "Son of the Sun"!

Daisy being a reporter was enough of a Quack Pack tribute for me...but using her character design from that series would take it too far! I don't want that to be the "canon" future of "this" universe! *shudder*

The premise of revisiting the sites of various past adventures lends itself to...(surprise!) a video game! (You know, each locale is its own level, in each the objective being to return the respective treasure that'd been taken from there...)

If Spector wants to uphold the primacy of the Barks versions of such stories as "The Golden Fleecing" and "The Status Seeker," then that's perfectly fine with me. Choosing those particular stories to reference, however, when so many other "DUCKTALES-only" and "Barks-only" stories were available, seemed almost like a calculated "thumb in the eye" to DUCKTALES fans who, after all, are supposedly THE PRIME AUDIENCE FOR THIS TITLE.By trying to have his cake and eat it too -- using DUCKTALES characters and a DUCKTALES setting to enact a Barks scenario -- Spector ends up giving BOTH sets of fans a bellyache.

"Daisy being a reporter was enough of a Quack Pack tribute for me...but using her character design from that series would take it too far! I don't want that to be the "canon" future of "this" universe! *shudder*"

Actually, the "new Daisy" was probably the ONLY aspect of QUACK PACK remotely worth preserving... and since the QP Daisy was a news reporter to begin with, WHY NOT use the QP design here? It's not like I'm going to demand subsequent cameos by Gwumpki and Kent Powers, right? Let that misbegotten "deconstructionist disaster" (thanks, Joe) have its one moment of recognition!

Choosing those particular stories to reference, however, when so many other "DUCKTALES-only" and "Barks-only" stories were available,

Fair enough! I understand where you're coming from. That definitely would've been less controversial.

seemed almost like a calculated "thumb in the eye" to DUCKTALES fans who, after all, are supposedly THE PRIME AUDIENCE FOR THIS TITLE.

Well, I hope his motives weren't that mean-spirited! I prefer to think that he was defining the boundaries of the comic's universe's merging of Barks-Rosa-DuckTales. Or, as you speculated, he may not have been aware of the TV adaptations. (But I hope not!) I can't speak for Spector; don't know what exactly he had in mind...but I'd love to ask him!

I remember talking to you about this years and years ago: besides us, are there many serious DT fans? It seems that it never fostered the type of feverous fanbases that the other "Golden Age" Disney Afternoon series have enjoyed to this day, in surprisingly active pockets of the Internet. Any would-be DT fans are ultimately Barks/Duck comics fans, amongst whom DT is (not across the board, but generally) seen as (as Don Rosa once put it) "a counterfeit version of Uncle Scrooge". DT fans who have no relationship with Duck comics seem fairly casual and fairweather (like those you might find posting on the DT IMDB message board, for instance).

Actually, the "new Daisy" was probably the ONLY aspect of QUACK PACK remotely worth preserving... and since the QP Daisy was a news reporter to begin with, WHY NOT use the QP design here?

Once again, fair enough! Putting aside my bias against Quack Pack, I nonetheless find myself using the rationale that, with Daisy having never existed as part of DuckTales, we can look to the precedent that on DT, the appearances of Scrooge, the nephews, et al didn't stray far from their "traditional" comics visages. Thus, if Daisy were to exist in the DT universe, then like Donald and the nephews, she wouldn't have yet "aged" into her QP facade (or have yet to simply adapt the respective new wardrobe!) But, this is really just me splitting hairs! I was always indifferent to the QP Daisy, while I know that you liked the character, so I can understand your preference here!

"Well, I hope his motives weren't that mean-spirited! I prefer to think that he was defining the boundaries of the comic's universe's merging of Barks-Rosa-DuckTales. Or, as you speculated, he may not have been aware of the TV adaptations. (But I hope not!)"

I seriously doubt that Spector's gambit was malevolent. In a sense, though, I'd almost be relieved if it were. DUCKTALES' history in comics has been checkered, to say the least, and I had very high hopes that Spector and Pujol (remember him? His participation is STILL being advertised on the backs of this week's releases!) could do for DT what Brill and Silvani did for DARKWING DUCK. I'd hate to think that Spector didn't enter into his writing duties with accurate knowledge of the TV show. Inaccurate Disney Studios stories from the late 80s and early 90s are one thing; similar errors by someone specifically tasked with writing DT comics quite another.

"I remember talking to you about this years and years ago: besides us, are there many serious DT fans? It seems that it never fostered the type of feverous fanbases that the other "Golden Age" Disney Afternoon series have enjoyed to this day, in surprisingly active pockets of the Internet."

I wrote about this at considerable length in one of my columns for THE HARVEYVILLE FUN TIMES! (issue #68). I identified the following reasons for the lack of a substantial DT fan base:

(1) A difference of opinion amongst Duck fans as to whether the series should have been produced at all. Myself, I never regarded DT as "warmed-over/fake $CROOGE stories" but as an entity unto itself. It may have helped that I was pretty new to Duck comics fandom at the time (I only started collecting in '85) and so didn't have any set-in-stone notions as to how the Ducks' world "should" be.(2) Mixed reviews of the made for TV characters and their merits relative to the Barks creations.(3) DT, unlike TALE SPIN and RESCUE RANGERS, wasn't "cut off prematurely" at 65 eps, but lasted 100 eps and got a movie in the bargain... not to mention the fact that Duck fans could always go back to reading comics once the show was over. In that sense, DT had a "natural lifespan" and people didn't see the need to continue an active fandom.(4) It is all too easy now to regard DT as "just another good Disney series" as opposed to the trailblazing series it truly was. Familiarity bred, in this case, not contempt, but a somewhat lazy acceptance.

It's a frustrating situation for DT fans, to be sure, but I've tried to hold my end up over the years -- and I still am disappointed when I see the series being mishandled in comic-book form.

I MUST give Warren Spector his props for referencing “Secret of Hondorica”!

I don’t believe that story has EVER been referenced by another story before! Most likely because it was a “Donald Duck”, and not an “Uncle Scrooge”, at a time when Carl Barks was not doing long Donald adventures with any regularity. It didn’t have a place in “Life and Times” or any other “self-referential” material, such as the type David and I often do.

Great job, Mr. Spector!!!

On the other hot topic, I don’t believe “DT Fandom” ever really separated itself form “Barks Fandom” (…and under that umbrella, I include “Rosa Fandom” and “General Duck Comics Fandom”) and established any sort of independent identity.

You either came to DT as a “Barks/Rosa/General Duck Comics Fan” or, after discovering DT, later became a “Barks/Rosa/General Duck Comics Fan”.

In either case, DT likely stuck as a subset of the greater fandom – and remained there to this day, as it has with both you and I.

CDRR fans, are mostly likely not fans of the Jack Hannah cartoons, and TALE SPIN fans are most likely not fans of “The Jungle Book”. But DT fans, such as they exist, are probably all members of the “greater whole”.

First, between your blog and Joe's blog (and a few others), I'm never at a loss for excellent, educational, and entertaining writing (the three "e"s, I guess you could say). I trust what you guys write and the opinions you articulate.

Therefore, my enthusiasm for DuckTales #1 diminished upon reading your review of it, Chris. Actually, my enthusiasm was always guarded. I know DuckTales' checkered history in comics (as you so accurately describe it), and I know Boom's on-again/off-again grasp on producing quality Disney material. (Sometimes I think they get it, and then, they'll produce something wildly awful that makes me think their throwing duck feathers in a pit of tar to see which ones stick.)

Like Ryan (and you and Joe), I'm a diehard DuckTales fan. Obsessed is a good word for it, Ryan. I'm one of those who came to the comics because of the series, so I'm usually inclined to tell the Barks/Rosa "canon"-istas to get a life and find a "Star Trek" message board to whine on.

I recently watched "Treasure of the Golden Suns" again and concluded that the writers of the series never intended for DT to be a continuation of the comic books, but rather an alternative Duck universe.

The first episode, "Don't Give Up the Ship," seems to imply that a.) the nephews have only a passing acquaintance with Uncle Scrooge and b.) Donald has been homebound up to this point and is feeling restless (and no doubt, a failure), and thus, wants to see the world). If it were a continuation of the Barks stories, then HD&L would know that Scrooge is more than just a greedy miser, and Donald would have already seen much of the world.

In many ways, "Don't Give Up the Ship" is DT's "Christmas on Bear Mountain" (or Chapter 12 of "Life of Scrooge"). More to provide evidence that this is an entirely different universe is the fact that the nephews aren't even members of the Junior Woodchucks until the high JW muckety-muck sees them on TV defeating the Beagles.

I say all of this for one reason. It's a mistake for Specter to try to combine the Barks/Rosa universe(s) with the DT universe. You can't have it both ways. They're entirely different continuities. Therefore, the DT versions of Barks stories, no matter what their quality may be, should be the canon that is referenced in a DT story.

Reading issue #1, I couldn't figure out if Spector knew what he was doing. It started out strong (I loved Scrooge parachuting in to his exhibit), but after the first few pages, the quality and focus of the story dropped precipitously (and in the case of the artwork, noticeably). By the end, I really didn't care or accept what I was reading, because it had no grounding in the past that Spector claimed to respect.

Whether he meant it or not, I did feel snubbed as a DT fan. I felt like another writer had come along who didn't respect the source material or felt it wasn't good enough to stand on its own. In many ways, it's more draining to be a DT fan than it is to be a DW or CDRR or TS fan. Like Donald, the odds always seem to be against you, lol.

(Doesn't help that GeoX has a blog devoted to basically ripping on every episode of the series. I think he's liked, maybe, a handful of episodes. Maybe.)

The first episode, "Don't Give Up the Ship," seems to imply that a.) the nephews have only a passing acquaintance with Uncle Scrooge and b.) Donald has been homebound up to this point and is feeling restless (and no doubt, a failure), and thus, wants to see the world). If it were a continuation of the Barks stories, then HD&L would know that Scrooge is more than just a greedy miser, and Donald would have already seen much of the world.

Yes, I've had those points solidified in an itemized mental list for at least 15 years!

I guess if Spector wanted to merge Barks and DuckTales continuity, it would've been safer to not flaunt it so much at first, and play down the Barks stuff, easing it in at a later point.

I agree that the strongest part of the story was the start -- literally a "grand entrance", on Scrooge's part. But from there, it wasn't the disregard for the show's continuity that got to me, but just that the plot seemed so mechanical, and the references to past stories and the various cameos made it seem like a laundry list was being checked off. Was off to a promising start, and then it was pretty "blah" from there. But, remaining optimistic, I'll see what comes of the forthcoming issues.

Sorry for checking in rather late with these latest reactions... just back from Daytona and the AP Stats reading.

Joe: "I don’t believe “DT Fandom” ever really separated itself form “Barks Fandom” (…and under that umbrella, I include “Rosa Fandom” and “General Duck Comics Fandom”) and established any sort of independent identity. You either came to DT as a “Barks/Rosa/General Duck Comics Fan” or, after discovering DT, later became a “Barks/Rosa/General Duck Comics Fan”. In either case, DT likely stuck as a subset of the greater fandom – and remained there to this day, as it has with both you and I."

I've always know this to be so. What I can't abide is people belittling or dismissing DT because it "doesn't measure up" to creations with which it was never designed to compete (i.e., the Barks stories).

Pete: "Whether [Spector] meant it or not, I did feel snubbed as a DT fan. I felt like another writer had come along who didn't respect the source material or felt it wasn't good enough to stand on its own. In many ways, it's more draining to be a DT fan than it is to be a DW or CDRR or TS fan. Like Donald, the odds always seem to be against you, lol."

Hey, DT let Gladstone be in the cast for a couple of eps, you'd think some of the luck would have rubbed off. ;-) But I wouldn't call being a DT fan "draining" so much as "frustrating." This latest effort was particularly frustrating because it seemed to hold so much promise. Spector seemed interested in working on DT IN PARTICULAR (compare Ian Brill, whose heart pretty clearly was never in writing the Rescue Rangers), and, AT THE VERY LEAST, I expected that Spector would get basic facts right. The muddled mess that was #1 was the last thing I expected.

I have heard the new comic will be ducktales/darkwing I hope we finally get Webby and Gosalyn working together as super heroes.Gimo webby and the Quivering Quack .A lot of people have been wanting to see this.I hope hope hope we can finally these two girls kicking butt.

I am glad to finally see Webby getting some attention I always thought Carl Barks really rejected her charter.She could have been a really good charter if the effort was put into her.I like the way she was jumping out in this one.I can take care of myself like she was trying to break away from that protect me I am little girl act.Yet as an uncle who needed to protect his small child Scrooge still kept her safe behind him.She reminded me more of Gosalyn and less of webby.And Scrooge acted more like Drake.

Yes I know on the show she wouldn't have been paid attention to like this.Maybe its good for her before she begins turning to boyfriends for attention when she becomes a teen.Yes this a cartoon and of course she not a real person so this based on real situation.I liked the way they included her in the football like play to save the diamond.As a female who is a big football fan I was glad to see her included in the play.